Loosen Up
by Red the Ordinary
Summary: Ruffnut thinks that Hiccup's been far too serious in recent days, and she's pretty sure she knows how to get him to loosen up. A Ruffcup one-shot, would love constructive criticism. No flaming please and thank you.


"If you keep making that face, Hiccup, it's probably going to stick like that."

Startled, Hiccup looked over to see that Ruffnut had planted herself next to him at one of the tables in the Meeting Hall. In her hand was a wooden cup, and she was busy taking a large swig from it as Hiccup turned his attention to her.

"Oh?" he simply said, wondering what in the world she was talking about. She put her cup down and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You frown _way_ too much these days," she flatly replied, crossing her arms as she leaned on the table. "It's painfully obvious something's bothering you." Hiccup never responded and only turned away with a sigh. Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Come _on_, Hiccup. It's been three _years_ since Astrid left. Don't tell me you're still moping about her being gone."

Hiccup closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Ruff, you can't possibly understand what it's like to lose someone," he said with a bit of difficulty. "Astrid was… the love of my life. And for once in my pathetic existence, I actually thought I had a chance at winning a girl's heart and making her mine." He paused and gulped, hoping that Ruffnut couldn't hear his throat tightening as he spoke. "But then… you know."

"Yeah, if it weren't for my dumbass brother, you wouldn't still be moping around. I know," she finished. She ran a hand through her hair and took another sip from her cup before continuing. This time she didn't make eye contact with Hiccup, and stared straight ahead at the wall in front of her. "Gods, if it weren't crime to kill a fellow Hooligan, let alone a family member, I'd strangle that kid and throw his rotting, dead body out into the ocean, where a dragon could eat it for all I care."

"Aww, don't say that, Ruff," Hiccup retorted. "You care about your brother no matter how many stupid things he does, and you'd _never_ do something like that to him."

Ruffnut took a while to respond. "Maybe not," she finally concurred. She gave a shrug. "Even though you don't have Astrid, at least you've got Rowan, right?"

Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the mere mention of the sweet three-year old son of Tuffnut and Astrid.

"And who knows, maybe Astrid will come back someday when she stops being butthurt and embarrassed about having a baby out of wedlock and completely bombing a potential marriage," Ruffnut concluded with a smirk. She looked back at Hiccup. "All I'm saying is, I think you need to stop being so upset all the time. It's not really… _you._" She got up from her seat and held up a finger. "I'll be right back."

Hiccup furrowed his brow as she walked off. "Uhh, okay."

He busied himself in studying the brightly-colored tapestries hung on the wall while he waited for her to return, and only now noticed that they told the story of his legendary encounter with Toothless. He could have sworn that they had once been woven with epic tales of his father and grandfathers fighting dragons and exploring the Inner Isles, and never realized that he himself had actually become an integral part of Berk's history.

The thought alone was almost overwhelming.

His attention was seized once again by Ruffnut's sudden appearance – or more accurately, the sudden materialization of a tankard on the table right in front of him. Ale angrily sloshed out and splattered onto the table, and with wide eyes Hiccup looked over at Ruffnut.

"Wha… what's this for?" he sputtered. Ruffnut raised an eyebrow and wiggled her fingers at the drink.

"Just drink it, idiot," she replied, taking a sip from her own cup. Now he knew what she'd been drinking. He uneasily rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged.

"I'm not… I mean, I don't really–" Ruffnut only pushed it closer and stared angrily at him. He sighed. "Okay. _Fine._ A few sips to make you happy."

As he forced the thick liquid down his throat, Ruffnut placed her chin in her hand and watched him in amusement. Clearly, he didn't drink very often – if at all – and could barely stand the taste of it.

"Trust me, you'll feel better in no time," she promised with a giggle. "This stuff works wonders."

Hiccup gave a dry laugh and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know _that._"

Ruffnut frowned. "But, you _never_ drink."

"Well, I don't need to drink to see the effects of it," Hiccup said as he finished off the last drop from the tankard. After a few moments, a confused look crossed his face. "Wait. How much did you put in here?"

"A lot," Ruffnut laughed. "And you just downed the whole thing in about… oh, I'd say a good minute. You must'a been _pretty_ stressed out." She took the tankard from him and went to stand up again. "Here. I'll go get you another one." Hiccup grabbed her arm and shook his head violently.

"Uhh, _no_," he firmly refused. "One of those is _more_ than enough."

"Aww come on, you know you want another one," she hastily replied, and she disappeared before Hiccup could say another word. He opened his mouth to protest, but she was already at the other side of the room refilling the tankard. She'd taken along her own cup as well and filled both so full that they spilled everywhere as she skipped back to the table. Hiccup could tell by the huge grin on her face and the way she carried herself that she'd been getting a bit tipsy.

Two tankards turned into three, and next thing Hiccup knew he was laughing hysterically as Ruffnut told him stories of the stupid things she'd done with her brother over the years. He couldn't even remember the last time he laughed like this, and it felt so good to be happy for once; completely carefree of life's complicated issues and hurts. Apparently, Ruffnut was right. The addicting stuff _was_ working wonders.

He finished off the last drop of ale from his third round and pathetically pushed it toward Ruffnut, who was busy giggling at absolutely nothing and almost didn't see his gesture.

"You think… maybe I could just… just… one more?" Hiccup slowly wondered. Ruffnut laughed and pushed the cup off of the table.

"Go get it yourself!" she snickered, and she leaned so far to one side she almost tumbled out of her seat. The two laughed at the near-accident and Hiccup got up to stand behind her and ease her back into a sitting position, but she was so out of it that she couldn't even sit up. He too felt a little dizzy standing on his feet, and he shook his head in an attempt to stabilize his equilibrium.

Ruffnut was only aware that Hiccup was directly behind her, and that his hands were on her waist; never mind _why_ he was there or why he was placing his hands there. She gently reached up and placed her hands on his, and ran her hands up his arm until she felt his neck somewhere above her head. She looked up and could see him looking back down at her, giving a nervous grin as if he wondered what was going on. She finally got up from her seat and grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly to keep herself from collapsing. With a naughty grin, she looked into his eyes and nodded her head toward the door, then tugged on his hand as she began to walk away and pull him along with her.

"Hey, c'mon," she whispered. Hiccup was wide-eyed and confused as he felt himself being dragged out the door of the Meeting Hall.

"Wha… where are we going?" he asked. Though confused, some part of him was curious to find out where they were going and what she wanted.

"You'll see," was all she said in reply. The gleam that he saw in her eyes moments later was enough to tell him everything he needed to know.


End file.
